Old Cedar Hills Hospital to become a 36-bed psychiatric facility

CEDAR HILLS -- Renovations are under way to convert the old Cedar Hills Hospital into a 36-bed psychiatric facility for New York-based Ascend Health Corp.

Ascend Health plans to open the hospital by Jan. 1. The company is interviewing applicants for about 100 staff jobs, and plans to admit patients shortly after the facility opens, said Dr. Richard Kresch, president and CEO.

Renovations have been ongoing since July, with work crews replacing and upgrading the building's electrical system, revamping the kitchen and flooring, replacing the light safety system, and updating the building to current state codes, among other repairs.

"It's pretty much a construction site," said Kresch, who is based out of New York but has visited the Cedar Hills location multiple times. "Basically, it's a total renovation."

State officials are partially done assessing Ascend Health's architectural plans. The state facilities, planning and safety program, a part of the Department of Human Services, has sent questions about the architectural plans back to the firm handling the project, Petersen Kolberg & Associates of Portland.

The state still must review the project's electrical and mechanical plans. The review process does not prevent Ascend Health from beginning renovations, but the state could require the company to make adjustments if changes don't meet state codes.

The 36 rooms of the hospital will be divided into units. Although none of the rooms will be locked, each unit will be locked.

Ascend Health officials have not finalized the entire make-up of the facility, but it will include one intensive-care unit, which will be used to monitor patients who need close supervision.

Kresch said the company is determining what other services will be offered by meeting with dozens of other hospitals and clinics to understand the needs of the metro area. Most patients will be voluntary admissions, he said, but patients will be admitted involuntarily as necessary.

State regulators approved the facility in March after assessing the demand for psychiatric treatment in the metro area.

When the state ran a certificate of need analysis on Ascend Health's original proposal of a 77-bed facility, it limited the development to 36 beds. Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties have a total of more than 200 in-patient psychiatric beds.

After approving the application, the state mandated that the company give free care to patients who can't pay for it. Other local psychiatric facilities had been concerned that Ascend Health would take only paying patients and avoid taking in free-of-charge patients, as do other facilities. Kresch said that will not happen.

Most psychiatric facilities balance their budgets by using the income from patients who pay for psychiatric treatment to cover the cost of free care for those who can't afford it, Kresch said.

"It makes it a challenge, but we're able to do it," said Kresch, who received his doctorate in medicine from New York Medical College.

Kresch estimated that the renovations will cost about $11 million.

The 47,087-square-foot building located at 10300 S.W. Eastridge St. has been vacant since 2002, when Providence Health System used it as a medical treatment center for alcohol-dependent patients. It was operated as a psychiatric facility called Cedar Hills Hospital for 20 years before it closed in 1993.